Memphis man indicted in teacher licensing cheating

MEMPHIS, Tenn.— A Memphis man has been indicted on federal charges that he was paid thousands of dollars by aspiring teachers in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi to have other people take their teacher licensing exams.

The federal indictment released Tuesday said 58-year-old Clarence Mumford hired a group of test takers, including Memphis City Schools employees or former employees, and used false documents during licensing exams in the three states.

The Commercial Appeal reported that the test takers were only identified by their initials in the 45-count indictment against Mumford alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States, document fraud and wire fraud.

The indictment said the scheme ran from 1995 to 2010, but it was not clear how many people paid to have someone else take the exams.